We All Fall Down
by HeartOfEmerald
Summary: This is a collection of one-shot songfics of my own writing. The pairings vary along with the ratings.
1. Heart Shaped Glasses

**A/N: I originally had all these oneshots as separate stories but I decided to put them into one long story. So to anyone that had them favorited before, I am very sorry and I hope you were able to find this so you can re-favorite. I hope you all enjoy this and it will be an ongoing collection that will be added to whenever i get bored and write a oneshot or when someone requests one.**

This story is dedicated to _Lokashi_, who requested this song and is my most supportive reader at the moment. (although I don't have many readers. lol.) And I have to give you a big thanks for your help!

Song: Heart Shaped Glasses- Marilyn Manson

Rating: M

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters or this song.

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_She reminds me of the one in school, when I was cutting'._

He remembers the day clearly. The first time he ever laid eyes on her. He was in seventh grade, and the torment had been especially vicious. He couldn't take it, and he escaped into the janitor's closet in the corner of the first floor. Farthest away from the classrooms and offices. The closet was no longer used and he came here when he desperately needed the silence. A break from the non-stop harassment that never ceased.

He fisted his hands in his hair, pulling hard enough to pluck out a few strands. The noise in his head was so loud. The rage overpowering his thoughts.

_No wonder he has no family._

_No one would want him anyway._

_Stay away from him! He's a freak!_

_Freak. . ._

It was then that the door opened slowly, and he turned his menacing green eyes onto whoever dared to intrude on his breakdown. Who was it? Who was so desperate to torment him that they followed him here?

But rather than a horrible child and his friends, waiting to mock him, there just stood a girl. Her blue-black hair short in the back with long bangs hanging past her delicate jaw bone. Her skin was pale and she had big, lavender eyes that were watching him with a concerned crease between her eyebrows. Her tiny hand was held up, the knuckle of her index finger pressed to her lips.

"Um. . .I-"

"GET OUT!" He shouted! She jumped and made small noise of terror, her eyes shutting and her lip quivering. She nodded and backed out of the closet, shutting the door quietly and leaving him alone.

All alone.

Just like always.

_She was dressed in white and I couldn't take my eyes off her. But that's not what I took off that night._

Eventually he allowed her to sit by him. Or rather, she slowly worked her way closer. She began by sitting down outside of the janitors closet while he was inside. He knew she was out there, and when screaming at her didn't work, he simply ignored her. But she managed to get inside. And she would sit across from him, her hands shoved in the pocket of her giant hoodie. He never spoke to her, just allowed her to sit there. He realized. . .he liked her sitting there.

They were in their senior year of high school when he first TRULY saw her. He was under the bleachers, hidden away from the judgmental faces of student body. The constant stomping and cheering going on above his head was irritating, but it filled his head with white noise. He didn't have to think.

"G-gaara-kun?" He heard the small voice that he had come to recognize, and looked up.

What he saw made his eyes widen.

She was standing before him, her index fingers pressed together at the tips in the habit he had long ago noticed. She was nervous. Like always.

Not like always, the lumpy hoodie was gone, and replaced with a white dress that hung delicately from her frame. The hem coming to just above her knees. Her hair, which had grown down to her waist, was fanned around her shoulders, her lavender eyes looking down at her fingers.

"Hinata?" His voice held an unfamiliar tone. A tone of. . .confusion? Curiosity? "You look. . .different." Her cheeks turned a deep pink, and she was looking everywhere but at him.

"I-I wanted to look n-nice for you." Her cheeks turned a more vibrant scarlet, the color spreading down the milky white skin of her neck. Gaara was captivated.

He had never seen her like this. She was. . .beautiful. Very rarely was Gaara capable of appreciating things but right now, he wondered how anyone could look at her and see anything BUT beauty.

Without fully realizing what he was doing, he had placed his hand on the back of her head and pulled her forward, crushing his lips down on hers in a searing kiss.

_She'll never cover up what we did with her dress, no she said "kiss meIt'll heal. But it won't forget. Kiss me, It'll heal, but it won't forget."_

Right from the beginning he knew her heart would break. She would break. No one was able to be around him without suffering. Her and her angel's heart would be no exception. And when she was laying on his chest, her dress long gone and somewhere on the floor, he would lace his fingers through her raven colored hair, and he would tell her how foolish she was. That she would only be alone and broken in the end.

"I'm not as delicate as you think Gaara-kun." Her voice was quiet, and she rarely stuttered around him anymore. Despite her words he continued to tell her she was better off without him. And despite his warnings, she continued to pull him deeper into her heart.

She pulled herself up so she was straddling his waist, placing her little hands on his shoulder as he looked up at her. "K-kiss me." She demanded shyly.

And who was he to refuse?

_And I don't mind you keepin' me on pins and needles if I could stick to you and you stick me too._

With his hands firmly on her hips he rocked her back and forth, the gentle but possessive movements making her close her eyes in bliss and she straddled him. She lowered her head to rest on his shoulder, her hands coming up to fist in his red hair as she planted light kisses on his neck, shyly nipping at a spot beneath his ear. Gaara growled and flipped them over, overcome with desire the make her his once again. He laced his fingers between hers, their joined hands above her head on the pillow. He lowered his head, trailing hot, open-mouthed kisses down her neck and chest, sucking on the soft skin lightly.

"Gaara." She whispered as he continued to move against her. He lifted himself up, staring down at the goddess beneath him as she arched off the bed and her head thrashed around, leaving her hair in a silky mess across his pillow.

He would fall asleep to her lavender scent tonight.

_Don't break, don't break my heart and I won't break your heart-shaped glasses Little girl, little girl you should close your eyes. That blue is getting me high_

For once in his life he was grateful for the insomnia he suffered from. No other time would he be able to admire her like he could at night. Often now she would sleep at his house, since his foster parents were never home and her parents didn't pay enough attention to notice when she was gone. She would sleep on her stomach, her midnight hair turning almost blue as the moonlight slanted in through his windows, falling over her in sharp shadows that made her look like an angel of his dreams. Dreams he had never been able to have before now.

He told her he would break her heart, but it was moments like this where he realized the consuming power she had over him. How with a word she could break his carefully crafted shield to sand. He did not deserve her, he knew. Her eyes saw everything with love, including him. It was delusional, he would tell her as well as himself. But no matter what he couldn't let her go.

He wouldn't.

_Don't break, don't break my heart, and I won't break your heart-shaped glasses. Little girl, little girl you should close your eyes. That blue is getting me high and making me low. That blue is getting me high and making me low_

He reached over to push her hair from her face, his fingertips ghosting over her cheeks and forehead. Slowly, her eyes would flutter open. Those piercing lavender eyes holding him in their gaze. She made no movement. Just watched him and the struggle of emotions playing across his face.

From the stuttering girl in the lumpy jacket, to that beautiful goddess in the white dress. He wanted to tell her how much he loved her, but he couldn't even tell himself that fact. Was he capable of love? To be honest, he had no idea.

_She reminds me of a one I knew that cut up the negatives of my life. I couldn't take my hands off her. She wouldn't let me be anywhere but inside._

There was a day when he wanted nothing and no one to touch him. He didn't come to school, and he ignored her phone calls. He wanted her to stay away from him. The knowledge that she was too good for him was crippling, and it had finally become too much. She didn't need him, and she shouldn't want him.

His head pounded with the torturous voices of those who had hated him. Noise that he had been able to suppress ever since. . .well ever since _her. _He laid on the floor of the living room, watching as the light outside changed. It was late in the evening, the room filled with golden color of the fading sunlight, when a loud pounding sounded at the door. He ignored it at first, hoping whoever it was would leave. But they didn't.

They knocked again.

And again.

"Gaara!" His eyes snapped open. The voice was one he recognized above all other, but he could not believe that was her outside the door. She would never be able to raise her voice, or shout his name in that demanding tone. "Gaara-kun!"

He stood up and opened the door, setting his stoic mask in place as he opened the door.

She stood there, her hair a wild mess and her chest rapidly rising and falling. Had she run here? Her tiny hands were fisted at her sides and her eyes held a determined, almost angry expression in them.

"Gaara." She said his name again, quieter, but still holding the same tone. He inclined his head.

"Hinata." He stared at her, until she did something he did not expect.

She threw her arms around him and hugged him as tight as she could.

"I will not let you be alone." She said into his chest, her voice stronger than he had ever heard it.

And just like that, the clamor in his head was gone.

_And I don't mind you keepin' me on pins and needles if I could stick to you and you stick me too._

He decided then he would not allow himself to push her out. No matter how heavy the doubt in his head and heart was. She was here, and he would be the selfish monster he knew himself to be, and keep her with him.

And allow her to keep him with her.

_Just don't break don't break my heart and I won't break your heart-shaped glasses. Little girl, little girl you should close your eyes. That blue is getting me high._

She would hold on. She saw in him what he could not see in himself, and she would hold on to him as long as it took for him see what she did.

_She'll never cover up what we did with her dress, no. She said kiss me, it'll heal but it won't forget. Kiss me, it'll heal but it won't forget._

And just like that first time he truly saw her, on that night where he was so captivated by her lavender eyes, the white dress laid on his floor, and he held her in his arms.

His angel.

His salvation.

His life.

_Don't break don't break my heart and I won't break your heart-shaped glasses. Little girl, little girl you should close your eyes, that blue is getting me high and making me low._

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**A/N: **so how did I do? hit that lovely little review button and tell me! and as i cant ask enough, PLEASE SEND ME REQUESTS FOR SONGS AND PAIRINGS! if you like my writing and request something, i will write a story for you and dedicate it to you. _Lokashi_, I hope you weren't disappointed in this one. AU and GaaHina was a little tough but i dont think it was too bad for a first attempt.

Thank you to whoever reads my stories. I love you all!

-HeartOfEmerald


	2. Closer

_**A/N: **_This story is dedicated to _Lokashi_! Thank you for your request and, as promised, here's your story.

*This is my first attempt at a full fledged Lemon Fic, so please bear with me.

Song: Closer- Nine Inch Nails

Rating: M

Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto or its characters, and I do not own this song.

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_You let me violate you, you let me desecrate you. You let me penetrate you, you let me complicate you._

She bit back the tears, refusing to let them escape. She would not cry. No matter how roughly he kissed her, no matter how hard he tugged on her pink hair, she would not cry.

"Sakura…" His voice in her ear, his breath sending chills down her spine. Half of pleasure, half of dread. He said her name slowly, hissing on the first letter like a snake. "You will be mine. Always mine." He told her, the possessive yet uncaring tone making her bite down on her lip. But the tears escaped anyway. He reached up with his free hand and wiped the tears away, leaving a smudge of dirt from his hands. "Pathetic." He spoke, and she shut her eyes tighter than before. He pressed her harder against the tree, the bark digging into her back painfully. "Enough of this." He said impatiently, wrapping his calloused hands roughly around the back of her legs, hoisting her up and pinning her to the tree with his weight. She cried out as the rough bark dug evermore into her back, scraping the skin raw.

"Why?" She cried, finally opening her eyes to face his blood red gaze. "Why do you do this?" He smirked, the demented gleam in his eyes making her heart beat even faster.

_Help me I broke apart my insides, help me I've got no soul to sell. Help me the only thing that works for me, help me get away from myself_

"You swore to do anything for me. Right, Sa-ku-ra?" He glided his tongue over each syllable, moving in closer. She could feel him pressing against her covered core.

She wanted to say no. She wanted to scream it. NO! GET AWAY FROM ME! But she couldn't. And he knew all too well she couldn't. She never could. She just let him drag her down this road to hell with him.

_I want to fuck you like an animal. I want to feel you from the inside. I want to fuck you like an animal. My whole existence is flawed. You get me closer to god_

He reached under her skirt, ripping away her underwear. She bit down on her lip, trying to will herself to look away. But the blood of his eyes would not allow her. She was trapped.

He yanked down the zipper of her top, wrapping his hand around her breast and squeezing until tears burst from her eyes again. Her hands were on his shoulders and she gripped the material of his shirt as she felt him shift his weight around until he was positioned at her entrance.

"Don't pretend you don't want this." He told her. He seemed so sure of himself. But inside he knew what the truth was. He had corrupted her. Ruined her for all others. He would be her only for as long as she lived. She was the exact counterpart to him. He was dark, and sinister while she was all light and purity. For her to smile at you was to see just a little bit of the heavens. But she never smiled at him. She only cried, or pleaded, or screamed. Her usually vibrant emerald eyes were dead when turned on him. However it would never stop him. He would take what he wanted from her. And he would make sure she kept allowing it.

_You can have my isolation, you can have the hate that it brings. You can have my absence of faith, you can have my everything._

He pushed into her, ignoring her cry of pain as he pounded into her at a steady rhythm. He buried his face in her neck, biting down on all the spots that made her squirm in his grasp. She cried out again and dropped her head down so her cheek rested against his, her breath in his ear.

"I hate you." She spat, biting back the sounds threatening to escape her as he gripped harder onto her hips, digging his fingers into her soft flesh. He quickened his pace, biting down on the tendon in her neck.

"I know."

_Help me tear down my reason, help me its' your sex I can smell. Help me you make me perfect, help me become somebody else._

This was the moment, when he reached his limit, and she - although sometimes reluctantly - reached hers. He felt whole. Different. His sins fell away from him and he felt like a different person. He growled against the skin of her neck, reveling in the feel of perfection she brought and the sounds of her screams.

This was his heaven. He would never make it to the real thing, and she was as close as he had.

_I want to fuck you like an animal. I want to feel you from the inside. I want to fuck you like an animal. My whole existence is flawed. You get me closer to god._

When it was finished, the moment of heaven slipped out of his grasps once again, he would slowly remove himself from her, letting her drop down onto the ground. She sat with her back against the tree, her legs folded against her chest and her forehead resting against her knees. He readjusted his clothes, scanned the area. He could feel the chakra signatures of the rest of her team closing in. They wouldn't have been able to sense him yet, and they didn't know it was him that snatched her up from the training grounds.

"Sasuke." Her voice was small, weak. He looked down at her, seeing her flinch at the sight of his sharingan, but she regained her composure, her jaw set. "Why?" She repeated her earlier question. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"I already told you-"

"Sasuke!" She snapped, her eyes shutting in frustration. "Tell me the truth." Her voice fell back into the weak whisper.

He stayed where he was, not sure whether to move towards her, or disappear before Kakashi and the dobe showed up.

"Don't you dare walk away Sasuke." She demanded quietly, and turned her face up towards him, her eyes glimmering with a new kind of determination.

Without understanding what he was doing, he kneeled down next to her, placing his hand on the back of her head.

He didn't know why. Or perhaps he did not acknowledge why. But he answered her question in the only way he could think.

The breath left her lungs as he pressed his lips to hers, kissing her softer and more gentle than he ever had before.

And just like that, he was gone.

_Through every forest, above the trees. Within my stomach, scraped off my knees._

He stood in the trees, cloaking his chakra and watched as she fell, defeated to the forest floor, her cheek pressed into the dirt. Her eyes shut in a weakened exhaustion.

Moments later, three figures appeared before her. He recognized two as his former teacher and teammate. The third he did not recognize. Dark hair and eyes, wearing a ridiculous half shirt.

"Sakura!" The blonde dropped to his knees beside her, pulling her delicately into his arms. "Please, not again." He bent his head down over her face, his face twisting in pain. Suddenly he looked back up, a furious expression on his features. "Why was she alone?"

"She said she would be fine! She was within Konoha gates and I just thought-" The dark haired newbie stopped mid-sentence. His face, which almost appeared to be lacking any emotion, had a ghostly look of guilt and agony in his eyes.

"We don't have time to point fingers." The silver haired copy ninja spoke, suddenly sounding much older.

"There's no need. We all know who's doing this." The blonde held his friend closer to him, standing carefully with her in his arms.

The three were quiet, until finally, they started back for the village.

Sasuke stayed where he was, trying to make himself move in the opposite direction. Away from the village.

_Through every forest, above the trees. Within my stomach, scraped off my knees_

He could not get her face out of his head, and he wasn't completely sure he wanted to. He would come back. And he knew she would be waiting.

_I drink the honey inside your hive._

He pressed his fingertips to his lips, his brow scrunching into a thoughtful expression. _Sakura. . ._

_You are the reason I stay alive .  
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_**A/N: **_like always feedback is welcomed and greatly appreciated! Once again, thank you _Lokashi_ for the song request!

PLEASE! If you have any requests for songs or pairings PLEASE tell me and I will see what I can write. 3

-HeartofEmerald


	3. Fix You

_**A:N/ **_I would like to dedicate this story to _Alitabear!_ sorry it took me so long to write this! i kept meaning to do it sooner but caught up in other things. but finally i've got it! I really hope i did a good job on this pairing and i hope you like it!

_Song: "Fix You" - The Offspring (- I would also like to thank LairOfKyuubi for recommending this song for this pairing)_

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_She wakes up, rage and grace. Pulling me closer, pushing away._

He felt it. The smooth skin of her arms as she slid her arms around his waist, her bare chest pressing into his back. He _felt _it. Or at least. . . He imagined he did. Is this what it felt like to feel? He was a puppet. How was he supposed to know what _feeling _was like?

He rolled over so he was facing her, her eyes still closed. He reached up one hand, touching his thumb just under her closed eye. A gesture more curious than gentle.

Her eyelid fluttered, dark lashes sweeping across her skin, and she opened her eyes. Her pale, lavender eyes like pearls focusing in on his face. One of her tiny hands touched his red hair, which was sticking up in some places from laying in bed. She smiled softly at him, knowing he did not sleep at all, and pulled him closer to her, pressing herself closer into his chest. Her lips pressing against the chest container, against the very essence that was his life.

The closer she was, the more he knew he did not belong here. Did not belong in _her _bed, sneaking into _her _village. He knew he had to leave, but right now, like every other time, he could not bring himself to leave. Not just yet.

_And me, the sharpest thorn on your vine. Twisting and turning. We're all intertwined._

He knew he was tearing her life apart. Slowly fraying the edges of the fabric that was her life, until the whole thing was marred by the damaging tear. Every fiber ripped apart because of him. Her relationship with the kyuubi, her friendship with those girls she had told him about, her family ties to the Hyuga, the very safety of her village. She risked everything by having him here. By opening her window for him, by letting him into her bed.

And every night he came for her, she would do what he asked, and let him in. She was just another one of his puppets.

But if that was true. . .why was it that he came for her against his better judgment?

_Broken wing, empty glass. Words that scream and bounce right back. She says, you know, we'd all like to rearrange._

Anger did not suit her features. Kindness. Acceptance. Happiness. Peacefulness. All these enhanced her beauty. But anger? It did not fit. It made her brow crease in a frustrated line, and the corners of her mouth turn downward. Her anger was quiet, and threatening. He knew that, although quit and soft-spoken, she was stubborn and relentless. And every morning that he had to leave, he saw that stubborn expression on her angel's face.

"Will you ever stay?" She asked, not really expecting an answer. He vaguely remembered the stutter that she once spoke with, and resisted the urge to smile.

"No," he answered simply. They both knew this fact, and yet she still hurt herself in asking. Hurt. Did he feel hurt? _Could _he feel hurt?

He wanted to say yes. That seeing the hurt on her face was, in turn, causing hurt within his own heart. But was that possible when he had no heart?

"Hinata," he said, reaching out and taking a strand of her hair between his fingertips. "I am not supposed to be here," is what he said. But she heard what he was _really _saying. He did not think he _deserved _to be here. He had committed more sins than her pure mind could even _begin _to comprehend. She was perfect in every way, at least that's what he believed.

"Everyone wants to change, Sasori. Including you," She spoke softly, capturing his hand in hers. "Including me."

_I wish I could fix you, and make you how I want you. I wish I could fix you, and I wish you could fix me._

As he ran away from her, back to his leader, he was consumed with emotions he had long been unfamiliar with. He was angry. He was guilty. He wanted to make her understand. Make her see how perfect she really was. How good she was. Make her see all the reasons that she should have nothing to do with him.

He knew she was not his puppet. On the contrary, the puppeteer had become the puppet, and the one pulling the strings was none other than a pale eyed angel.

He found himself wishing that things could be different. That he could be sure of the things he imagined himself feeling. That he did not have to sneak into her village, enemy of the Akatsuki, to see her. That he could be alive.

That she could _make _him alive.

_I wish I could heal you, and mend where you are broken. I wish I could heal you, and I wish you could heal me._

He remembered seeing flashes of pain in her lavender eyes. He always wondered where this pain came from. Did it have to do with the kyuubi? Or the strain in her family? Perhaps it was because of him.

He wanted to see her smile more. It suited her much better than the frown she wore as he left through the window.

Maybe she could heal him as well? An angel of all things would surely be able to heal even the darkest of sinners.

_The setting sun destroys the light_

But finally night comes, and with it, all the promises of her embrace.

He gets away from the Akatsuki, sneaks past her village gates- although not a difficult task in the first place- and finds the window that is hers on the Hyuga compound. He does not bring his puppets. He knows they frighten her.

She is always waiting for him. Sitting on her bed with her legs tucked underneath her, pressing her index fingers together with a look of complete concentration on her face. And when she feels his presence, she looks up, and her face relaxes.

"Sasori," She whispers, wrapping her slim arms around him, pulling him closer to her. He stared down at her midnight hair, the moonlight creating different shades of blue, black, and violet. Slowly, and a bit hesitantly, he raised his arms up to return the embrace. A sigh of content escaped her lips and she pressed her face into his cloak, imagining that it was made of plain black fabric, and had not a single red cloud anywhere on it.

"Hinata," He said her name, liking the way it felt on his lips.

For a while they just stood there like that, and he remembered a time as a child when he had made puppets to look like his parents, and hugged them. It was a memory he had repressed, but with this girl in his arms, he felt them return and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

He wondered if he was really feeling Hinata's warmth, or if it was just a trick of his mind, brought on by the long buried memory of what it once felt like to have human contact. Before he made himself into what he was.

The sudden desire to know what it was like to _feel_ made him grip her tighter, his palms pressed tight against her back. He placed one hand on the back of her head, gently tugging on her hair so she would look up at him. Her face held a look of confusion, and she opened her mouth to ask if he was alright, but she was silenced with his kiss.

Slowly, gently, he removed her clothes, just as she removed his. She was shocked at the way he was handling her, as if she was made of glass. He held her almost like he was afraid he would break her if he squeezed to tightly. Never had he handled her with such, care and consideration. But behind his actions, she could feel the sudden desperation that had not been there before, and she held him to her as tight as possible.

_A beaming sunrise buries the night._

That damned sun. How he hated it. Especially now. How it interrupts their nights together. It's the sign that tells him he must leave her.

And to him, she's never more as beautiful as she is in the moonlight.

Last night she had shown him that he was alive. He was not just a puppet with a life essence. He was still himself. He was still Sasori. He still longed to feel what it was to be loved, just as he longed to feel the love of his parents when he was a child.

And finally, the love he had longed so long for, was shown to him by this pale eyed girl.

_Then she says, baby, I've gotta get going ,cutting each other without even knowing._

"Sasori," She says his name, just before he is about to leave. He turns away from the window, summoned by the very sound of her voice. "I have to tell you something."

The look on her face is that of sorrow. He can see it as plainly as he can see the sun rising. Her bottom lip quivered as she bit down on it, her eyes threatening to tear up. He took a hesitant step closer.

"Naruto was announced as Hokage yesterday," she said. And although this statement was simple, he had a feeling it held much more meaning than he was understanding.

"And?" He prompted her.

"Well. . ." she pressed her index fingers together, and he could see the struggle she was having. "He asked my father for permission to marry me, which he was granted. Everything is arranged now."

He couldn't believe it. He held a calm expression on his face but inside it felt like everything within him had suddenly fallen to the floor around him.

She would marry the kyuubi. She would be the wife of the Konoha Hokage. She was now just as much enemy to Akatsuki as the Fox Boy.

And yet here he was, still in her room.

He turned his attention to the window.

"We knew it wouldn't last long," he spoke, trying to keep his voice calm. "I am Akatsuki, you are Konoha. This is the way it should have been in the first place." He heard her gasp of surprise and pain, and he knew that what he said hurt her. But it was hurting him too. Even more now that he had learned to feel.

Without another word, he leapt from her window, out of sight.

_She sees a million stars like holes in the sky. All God's tears for her they cry._

He watched her. He knew he should not be here. But here he was. He stood on a rooftop across from the Hokage tower, hidden by his favorite puppet.

She was out on the balcony, her hair loose around her shoulders, her white nightgown swaying in the slight breeze. Her eyes were locked on the sky above her.

Behind her, inside the room, Sasori could see the giant bed and the sleeping form of her husband. The kyuubi. How he envied the blonde with every bit of his new found soul.

Ignoring the jealous feelings within him, he focused instead on the girl. He wanted to get her attention, make his presence known to her. But he didn't. And he knew he shouldn't. So he just watched her look at the sky, hoping to whatever power there was out in that sky that he was the reason behind the soft smile on her face. That he was the one she thought of as she fell asleep. That he was the one she wished she was waking up next to.

That he was the one she loved, as much as he loved her.

_And I am in her rain._

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_**A/N: **_once again this songfic oneshot is dedicated to _Alitabear _with special thanks to _LairOfKyuubi. _leave me a review and tell me what you think!

also! look out for a songfic coming out for Minato+Kushina. (almost as challenging as KisaHina. lol)

and one more thing! im thinking about writing a few stories for another manga or anime. probably either Black Bird, Vampire Knight, or maybe even Elfen Lied/ Your thoughts?

Request and Review!

-HeartOfEmerald


	4. Fool With Dreams

_A/N: _

Song- Fool With Dreams by Framing Hanley

Rating: M

Disclaimer- i do not own this song or these characters.

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_You're a diamond, how I found you I still don't know. But now I got you and I'll never let you go._

He hated when they fought. She was so damn stubborn! But then so was he. Their tempers too much alike that it caused a near natural disaster. She stood a few feet away from him, her back pressed against the wall. Her arms were crossed and she had pushed her pink hair out to cover her face. She was of course threatening to leave and he in response dared her too. But he knew himself better than that. She would never leave him. He would not allow it. He would never let her go. She was far too precious to him.

_If your hearts a pocket looking for some change. My heart makes lots of sense._

She watched him step closer to her, his chest nearly touching her nose. She refused to look up at him. If she so much as glanced into his bright blue eyes she would no doubt crumble to her knees.

He began to speak. Telling her he was what she needed, and she was what he needed. He would give her everything he had. She knew he was struggling with his words right now. The strain in his voice told her so. But she was not going to give in this time. He had pushed her too far with his volatile behavior, and frankly she couldn't stand it anymore. Couldn't stand the sleepless nights spent waiting for her missing-nin to appear at her window. His long blonde hair loose around his shoulders, that ever present smirk directed towards her. She never knew when he would come, and the time in between visits was agony. For all she knew he would be dead, for he never sent word. Not even a single one of his damned clay birds as a sign that he was alive and thinking of her.

She wanted to believe his words.

Things would be different. . . .

_Just stay quiet, Breathe deep, Breathe out, Breathe slow. Don't say a word. Let our eyes speak and they will tell you..._

She wasn't listening to him! His words were making no impression on her! She simply kept her emerald eyes directed at one of the hateful red clouds on his cloak. He couldn't take this anymore! If she wouldn't look at him, he would make her.

He gripped tightly onto her chin, but not enough to hurt her, and pulled her face upwards so as to look him in the eye. She glared viciously at him, opening her mouth to let out a furious stream of complaints at him. However, he quickly muffled the shrieks with his mouth, ignoring her protests. He then rested his cheek against hers, his lips at her ear.

"Would you shut up for _once_?" He hissed.

_I'm a fool with dreams, and not a lot of things. I swear that I will be all you need. Don't give up on me. Give me one more day. Don't give this all away. We'll be fine, you'll see. Just don't give up on me._

As he attempted to make her listen to him, wrapping his strong arms around her, she began to cry. Her shoulders trembled with her attempt at holding it in.

"It will be different one day." He promised, and she smiled against his chest as the tears streamed down her face. She nodded, although she knew it was not true. It would never be different. Her heart belonged to Konoha, and his soul belonged to Akatsuki. Allegiances that could never be broken. Not even for each other. But just for tonight she would believe it, and reveled in the feeling of his velvety lips against hers, his calloused hands ghosting over her skin. She smiled against his lips as she felt the tongues on his hands kiss her skin lovingly.

"One day." He whispered against her neck as he tugged his Cherry Blossom to the bed.

_I'd be lying if I said that I'm not terrified. How the hell can I do as they say, and take this all in stride? Does this come with an instruction book? If so I need to have a look._

The girl beneath him was a goddess. He was sure of it. Her pink locks fanned across the pillow. The blush creeping down her neck touching all the way to her breasts. Beautiful. The word could not properly describe her. She was his own piece of art. His own masterpieces. His. And no one else's.

The tears still fell from her eyes, and as she watched him hovering above her, she did not miss the slight frown on his mouth. He was afraid, although he would never admit it. Not even to her. She was the only one who showed what she truly felt.

Noticing her examining stare, he lowered himself down on her, pushing into her as she let out a soft moan, her back arching off the bed and her eyes closing in bliss. He did not want her to think of negative things. Not tonight.

_Just stay quiet, Breathe deep, Breathe out, Breathe slow. Don't say a word. Let our eyes speak and they will tell you..._

"Look at me." He whispered to her. She opened her eyes, the desire shining in her viridian orbs. Their uneven breathing mixed together as the reached their ends. "Sakura. . ." He breathed her name.

"Deidara." She moaned his in response.

"I love you. . ."

_I'm a fool with dreams, and not a lot of things. I swear that I will be all you need. Don't give up on me. Give me one more day. Don't give this all away. We'll be fine, you'll see. Just don't give up on me. Don't give up on me. Don't give up on me._

"I'll love you forever." She swore. The space between his eyes scrunched together as he gave one final push deeper.

Forever was not long enough.

_I know you're scared inside, but baby so am I. It gets so hard to hide. I'm not going no where. I'm not going no where._

She wouldn't sleep. She thought he would leave. He swore to her that he wouldn't, and held her against his chest as she reluctantly drifted to sleep.

He admired her face as she slept. Her angel's face relaxed. The daily stress and worry disappeared from her features.

A masterpiece.

_I'm a fool with dreams, and not a lot of things. I swear that I will be all you need. Don't give up on me. Give me one more day. Don't give this all away. We'll be fine, you'll see. You'll see, You'll see..._

He was gone when she woke up. Of course. What else had she been expecting? His leader would have been searching for him by now. She sighed, running a hand through her hair.

Her eyes drifted to the open window. A slight breeze blew in, and resting lightly on the sill, was a clay bird. She smiled widely and ran with lightning speed to the window, cradling the bird in her hand. She turned her face to the sun, warming her cheeks. He would come back.

_I_

_'m a fool with dreams, and not a lot of things. I swear that I will be all you need. Don't give up on me. Give me one more day. Don't give this all away. We'll be fine, you'll see. You'll see, You'll see..._

A few nights later, he burst through her window. The streets outside were in madness. She had come back to her home to get geared up before running out into the middle of the battle.

"Sakura!" He choked, falling to his knees in front of her, gripping his stomach as he spit out a mouthful of blood.

"Dei!" She cried, dropping down in front of him.

"Run with me!"

"What?"

"They're going to blow each other up. Half of the Akatsuki is dead, me believed to be among the dead. I doubt your friend's can make it through this, and if they do you can come back for them another time. But today, you must leave with me. I won't let you be killed." She was frozen, watching the desperate expression on her artist's face.

"Sakura!"

"Deidara I," What could she say? What could she do.

His hand was held out to her, she stared at the blood covered skin. All she had to do, was take it.

_Just don't give up on me. Don't give up_

_

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_A/N: _the ending is up to you about whether she goes or not. Well? How did I do? Im new at writing fics so feedback is much appreciated. =)


	5. Good Enough

_**A/N: **_Yes! Got a new story done! I was having some writers block issue with this one, but hopefully it came out good. Another KisaHina fic for _lillee-of-the-vallee_! Hope you like it!

song: Good Enough- Evanescence

Rating: T

* * *

_Under your spell again. I can't say no to you. Crave my heart and it's bleeding in your hand. I can't say no to you._

The thoughts of their first meeting plagued his mind. What had happened to him. The Beast With No Tails. And yet something so unfamiliar had washed over him, and he couldn't get it out of his mind.

Itachi was fighting the kyuubi and it's teammates, and the shark-nin had been ordered run patrol around the area to make sure none of the little Konoha brats with their "will of fire" came to mess things up.

He detected the feeling of approaching chakra, Samaheda practically humming with excitement at the delicious taste. He reached a blue tinged hand up and gently stroked the handle of his beloved sword.

Within minutes, a small - tiny more like it- girl appeared from between the trees. Her chest rising and falling rapidly. She had run the whole way from Konoha to this place.

Not seeing the need to kill such a pathetic creature on sight, he spoke.

"Where do you think you're going brat?" The girl flinched at the harsh gravel of his voice, and then turned her face to look him in the eye, her jaw set in solid determination.

"Where is Naruto?" She asked, her voice as firm as she could make it.

The shark recognized the girl once he saw the soft lavender of her eyes. The Hyuga Princess.

"Ha! Like I'd tell you. Run back to your village princess-" At that moment a kunai whizzed towards his head, which he easily caught. He was torn between the urge to laugh at her pathetic attempt at an attack, and also the complete surprise that she would make such a bold move. "Little bitch-" He was cut off by the lightning quick movement of her rushing towards him, stopping just in front of the giant mist-nin.

"Let me pass!" She cried desperately. Stupid. He could kill her so easily. But as he stared down at the fiery expression on her pale face, her tiny hands curled into tight fists, and the few hot tears escaping her eyes, he found himself incapable of raising a hand towards her. A feeling was spreading through him that he in no way recognized. Why couldn't he do anything? What was happening?

A look of realization spread over her face as she thought of the situation she had put herself in. She was standing less than a foot away of one of the most dangerous missing-nin in the world, demanding that he allow to get past him. What was she thinking? But she realized he was making no move to attack.

"Please. . ." She whispered.

He didn't move.

Couldn't move.

She stared up at him for one more moment, and then ran past him towards the battle scene.

_Shouldn't let you torture me so sweetly. Now I can't let go of this dream._

He couldn't stop thinking about that incident. Why had he done that? Something about the look of complete loyalty and strength had stopped him dead in his tracks. He couldn't think of anything to do. All he could do was wonder how someone so small and weak could be capable of such fierce inner determination. She had put a spell over him the moment she looked into his cold shark eyes.

_I can't breathe but I feel good enough. I feel good enough for you._

He saw her again, of course. She was a Konoha kunoichi, and later he learned that she was involved with the kyuubi container. They never had any type of interaction except when he perhaps was fighting her teammate.

It did not pass his observations that he for some reason never fought her.

One of the more recent times he had seen her was after everything had happened. After the bloodiest Ninja War yet. The kyuubi kid, who had become the Hokage, had fought unrelentingly and in the end had sacrificed himself to save his village from the destructive power of the Nine Tails. A majority of Konoha, Suna, and Akatsuki ninjas were killed, and the few remaining worked now only as hired assassins and the occasional medic.

Akatsuki was finished. Madara was killed by the kyuubi just before losing his own life. Itachi was dead. Killed by his little brother, who was also killed by the Konoha Hokage. Everyone in the organization was dead aside from a heartbroken Konan, a slimy Zetsu, and him.

He was sitting in a bar, chugging down as much sake as he could. The bartender stood at a safe distant, casting frightened glances at the shark until he turned to help another customer.

"May I help you miss?"

"Sake." She said softly. The shark-nin, for whatever reason, turned on his stool and was surprised at what he saw.

The Hyuga girl.

He held an internal battle within himself. Samaheda humming with the delicious taste of her suppressed chakra.

"So you survived then." His eyes widened at the sound of her voice, directed towards him. He looked up to find her staring at him with tired lavender eyes.

"Yeah Princess. I did." She was running her little finger along the rim of the sake bottle, a faraway look on her face. That fire he had seen in her so long ago seemed to have diminished.

They sat in silence. He wondered what she thought of him. He was responsible for taking the lives of several of her friends and quite possibly her family even. How could she even stand to sit in the same building as him, let alone the same bar.

"I don't hate you." She spoke, answering the thoughts in his head. He stared at her, watched her as she traced an invisible pattern on the scratched wood of the bar.

"Heh. That's your mistake. You should." She shook her head slowly.

"No. I shouldn't. You took many lives of people close to me, but you were following the orders of your leader. You were doing your job as a ninja. I have done the same thing for most of my life. Therefore I can not judge." He smirked at her, ignoring the tugging feeling in his chest.

"Stupid girl. Haven't you heard?" She looked at him now, watching as he leaned in closer. The light glinting of his sharp teeth in a slightly menacing manner. "I _enjoy_ killing."

He expected to see her flinch, to see her eyes turn fearful. But neither of these happened. She shut her eyes.

"I don't believe it. You may be called the Beast With No Tails, but there must be some humanity in you."

"And how would you know that?" She looked directly into his eyes, that flame returning to them slightly.

"You let me pass you that day. To get to Naruto."

For the second time in his life, because of this girl, he was left speechless.

She stood up, left some money on the table and went to walk out of the bar.

"Arigatou Kisame-sama."

And then she was gone.

_Drink up sweet decadence. I can't say no to you, and I've completely lost myself, and I don't mind. I can't say no to you._

The next time he saw her, he thought she was dead.

He had come by a nearby river, needing to stop his nomadic travels for the night. He saw someone laying in the grass, their head at an awkward angle against the tree. As he approached the small body, Samaheda hummed slightly at the recognition of a beloved chakra.

"I know you're there." The girl spoke, and her lavender eyes opened t ogaze up at the shark-nin towering above her. She smirked slightly. "I didn't think anyone would find me here. I'm even more surprised its you."

He noticed that she was weak, her chakra wasn't as powerful as it once was.

"You dying or something?" She smirked again at his question.

"Unfortunately no." She rolled over so she laid on her side, curled up tightly into herself. "I'm so tired." She whimpered. "I haven't slept in so long."

He knew he could make her fall asleep. Drain her chakra a bit so she would fall into unconsciousness until her chakra was refreshed to it's original glory. Samaheda was practically electric with the idea.

But the idea of. . ._helping_. . .it was unfamiliar.

"I can help you sleep." He said, surprising himself. "A sleep without dreams."

"Or nightmares?"

"Yes." A soft smile graced her lips.

"I knew you were kind, Kisame-sama." He did his best to ignore her comment, and unstrapped Samaheda from his back. She flinched, and then relaxed. Did she think he was going to kill her?

Is that was she wanted?

He laid Samaheda down next to her tiny body. He felt the swords excitement as it absorbed the blissful taste of her chakra. Slowly, her eyes fell closed and her breathing deepened.

Who was he? He didn't know this person. Who was this that would help a tormented girl sleep? Who would allow himself to feel. . .good. For just once when she told him that he was not a bad person.

Who was he?

Who was this girl?

_Shouldn't let you conquer me completely. Now I can't let go of this dream. Can't believe that I feel good enough, I feel good enough. It's been such a long time coming, but I feel good._

She was taking over his every thought. She let him believe that he was a person worthy of being cared for. That he was not a sadistic monster.

That a part of him, in fact, was human.

_And I'm still waiting for the rain to fall. Pour real life down on me. 'Cause I can't hold on to anything this good enough. Am I good enough for you to love me too?_

The final time he had laid eyes on her, she had begged.

He happened to be traveling through Fire Country, and came to the site of the last Ninja War. The area was sacred. On a whim, he went to the center. The place where the kyuubi Hokage had killed the last remaining Uchihas. A memorial was set up for the brave young man.

The shark-nin stopped in his tracks at what he saw.

There she was, kneeling down at the base of the memorial. One hand reached out and touching the golden plate mounted onto the red marble like stone. The other held to her mouth. Her shoulders shook in violent spasms, and as he approached he heard the choked sound of her broken sobs.

He stood near her, and his eyes widened at the sight of blood seeping from between her fingers.

She looked up at him, tears streaming down her face and a desperate, painful look in her eyes.

"Help me." She begged. He could tell by the feel of her chakra that she was sick. Her body weakened by some type of painful illness. She was dying. But oh so slowly.

He knew the help she wanted. She wanted it to end. She didn't want to be alone anymore. She didn't want to have to walk the earth alone with not a single soul anywhere to call a friend. The love of her life, her friends, her family, everyone. Dead.

He nodded solemnly, laying Samaheda down next to her, kneeling so he came closer to her hunched over height. She looked up at him, her eyes pained but soft.

He felt something touch his cheek, and realized it was one of her tiny hands. Her little thumb tracing underneath one of his gills.

"Arigatou, Kisame."

Samaheda began to drink her in, not holding back. Her hand fell away from his blue skin, and she slowly slumped down to the grown. Her forehead pressed against the memorial, her lavender eyes drifting closed for the last time. He reached out and in a gentle manner he didn't recognize from himself, wiped the stream of blood from the corner of her lips.

Her chest rose and fell once more, and it didn't rise again.

She was a victim of the world she was born into. Nothing in her pure heart deserved what she had gone through. She had loved everyone.

Even the ones not worth loving.

_So take care what you ask of me, 'cause I can't say no._

_

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_**A/N: **_What did you think? _lillee-of-the-vallee _i hope i didn't you let you down on this one!

REVIEW + REQUEST!

-HeartOfEmerald


	6. Like You

**A/N: **ok, so I realize this pairing may be a little strange but it at the request of one my readers that I write it. i actually enjoyed writing this because it was such a challenge. KisaHina is definitley a tricky one to write for and i hope i did it justice. This story is dedicated to _lillee-of-the-vallee _who requested this song and this pairing. thank you so much for your request and i hope you aren't disappointed by this! its not exactly a romance, more of a once sided guilt trip. The reason being, this song is about mourning a death. (for all of you who dont know, this song was written by amy lee- evanescence lead singer- for her sister who died at a very young age) i really hope this came out well! now...commence reading!

Song: Like You- Evanescence

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters or this song.

* * *

_Stay low. Soft, dark, and dreamless, far beneath my nightmares and loneliness._

Before _her _he never thought he would be capable of feeling this. Of feeling _anything. _But here he was, standing up to his knees in the blessed water of the ocean. His Akatsuki cloak floated around him, Samehada strapped to his back.

It had been a simple mission. Kidnap the Hyuga princess as leverage for the Kyuubi. When the fox idiot came after her, capture him, extract the tailed beast, and then get rid of the Hyuga.

But everything had gone wrong.

He held one blue tinged hand up to his face, covering his eyes and squeezing down gently on his temples.

_I hate me, for breathing without you. I don't want to feel anymore for you._

Never in his life had he seen someone like her. She was so. . .good. Kind, and gentle. Her very being screamed purity. He wondered how someone like her could be a shinobi. How could someone who seemed to be incapable of hurting a fly, dream of becoming someone that lived its life as a hired weapon.

He remembered the look of terror in her eyes those first few days she was locked in a cell at the Akatsuki base, her hands tied behind her and her feet bound at the ankles. However she soon figured out what the plan was, and she began to shout, which was unexpected. She had been so soft and quiet. But it seemed that it when it came to her beloved Fox Boy she had the strength to be vocal.

"You'll never touch him!" She would scream. He remembered the first time he was guarding her. The look of pure determination in her eyes. He had ignored her adamant shouts, simply sitting across from the cell, leaning against a wall. Samaheda cradled preciously in his lap.

"Fucking Princess." He now mumbled to himself, taking a few steps deeper into the water.

Her rants ended soon, and she had begun to feel the draining effects of his sword sucking the chakra out of her. She fell defeated to the cell floor, falling into an exhausted sleep.

_Grieving for you, I'm not grieving for you. Nothing real love can't undo, and though I may have lost my way, all paths lead straight to you._

When was the first civil conversation he had with her? Probably around the third week of her being there. Someone as good at her was obviously incapable of hatred, even towards someone she was supposed to consider as her sworn enemy.

"K-kisame?" She had stuttered. The shark-nin looked up from admiring his sword. "That's y-your name. R-right?" Why had she been stuttering?

"What's it to you Princess?" He had growled out harshly. She flinched. "Keep that pretty mouth shut. For your own good." She had then looked down at her lap, shifting uncomfortably from her tied up spot on the floor.

"You're a ninja from the m-mist." It had been a statement. Not a question.

"Heh. Not anymore Princess."

"W-why do you keep calling me that?" He looked at her with a slightly confused look.

"Eh?"

"P-princess. I'm no Princess." She looked towards a spot on the gray wall.

"Not what I hear. You're the Hyuga heir-"

"Not anymore." She said firmly. "I was disowned when I disobeyed my father's orders for an arranged marriage. I loved someone else." The shark could guess who she was talking about. Fox Boy.

"Heh, what do I care about your life. As far as I'm concerned, your just a pretty little worm at the end of the fishing pole. Just waiting for the foxy little fish to take the bait."

"He's stronger than all of you." She said softly, looking down so her hair fell to hide her eyes. "I'll die before I let you touch him." With the way she had spoken, he had known she was telling the complete and total truth.

He was about to tell her how pathetic she was, but at that moment, he had felt something that he had rarely felt before.

Respect.

For this tiny little kunoichi who's life he basically held in his hands.

He didn't like this feeling, and with a few caresses of Samaheda, she was drained of her energy and fell back to the floor.

When she awoke, she was no longer tied up.

The shark-nin now watched the waves rolling towards the shore, feeling the unsettling feeling in his chest. He had never felt guilt for anything in his life. Why her?

_I long to be like you, lie cold in the ground like you._

The world appeared darker to him. Colorless. The light gone out of everything. Without a light as bright as her in the world, how could the world continue to glow.

He found himself wishing that he didn't exist in this world. Full of the hatred that was the exact contradiction of her existence. She saw the good in everything. She even saw it in him. Yet he had thrown it in her face, proving to her in the ultimate way that there was no good in him.

He could never forget the look in those lavender eyes as the light slowly faded from them. . .

_Halo, blinding wall between us. Melt away and leave us alone again. The humming, haunted somewhere out there. I believe our love can see us through in death._

He wondered, for just a moment, if he would see her. If he was to stop living, would he get a chance to see that soft smile of complete acceptance? Would she have forgiven him? Her precious Fox Boy was alive, although he would bet his gills that the Kyuubi's world lacked the vividness it once had when _she _still lived in it.

No, he would never see her. She was angel here in this hell hole, and he was the devil's assistant.

_I long to be like you, lie cold in the ground like you. There's room inside for two and I'm not grieving for you, I'm coming for you._

He took those few steps deeper into the water. The guilt was consuming him. Her eyes. He loved those eyes, although they haunted his every dream. The last look in them had been one of acceptance. Like she had been expecting to die.

And it bothered him.

He realized, to a painfully acute degree, what a monster he must truly be. For such an angel to _know _he would kill her. He was such a disgusting creature that it was _expected _of him to kill. To take the life from something so pure.

There would never be anything like her.

Nothing and no one.

He had personally destroyed one of the world's brightest stars.

And she had known it was coming.

_You're not alone, no matter what they told you, you're not alone. I'll be right beside you forevermore._

He let his body be swallowed by the welcoming currents. He held his sword to his chest, wrapping his arms around it tightly as the razor scales dug into his flesh.

_Drink up Samaheda._

He stopped his airflow, and allowed his chakra to be absorbed by the sword. If he was going to leave this world, this was the way he would have wanted it. Or at least it was the way he thought he _should _do it.

Peacefully.

For her.

_I long to be like you, lie cold in the ground like you did. There's room inside for two and I'm not grieving for you._

As he felt the last of his life slipping away from him, he recalled her death. He had been ordered to keep her away from the battle between the Akatsuki and the Kyuubi. He trapped her in his water prison ninjutsu, and a part of him couldn't ignore the nagging desire for the battle to be over and done with so she would not drown.

Of course that is not what happened.

She slowly started to suffocate, and he could see the internal battle within her to try and force her lungs to hold out. Just a little longer. And soon, she stopped struggling. And rather than watching her beloved Fox Boy triumph in her last moments, she had turned around, her eyes settling on him. And he watched her die. Watched her drown. The angel was killed at the hands of the demon.

And still, she had managed a tiny smile of acceptance.

_And as we lay in silent bliss, I know you remember me._

Death was peaceful. Welcomed even. The guilt was slowly slipping away. The imaged of her face growing stronger and then dissolving in the water around him.

And then he was lost in the bliss of black waves.

_I long to be like you, lie cold in the ground like you. There's room inside for two and I'm not grieving for you, I'm coming for you._

_

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**A/N: **So how was it? PLEASE let me know. i especially want reviews for this one since its so different from the more common pairings. reviews and requests are GREATLY appreciated. _lillie-of-the-vallee _what did you think? did i do this pairing justice even though it was more nostalgic than romantic? it was difficult but i did my absolute best.

review and request!

-HeartOfEmerald


	7. The Dirt Whispered

_**A/N:**_ ahh my second GaaHina fic! written for the wonderful _LairOfKyuubi, _who requested the pairing and the song. Hope you like it LoK!

Song: "The Dirt Whispered"- Rise Against

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I do not own this song or these characters.

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_She got down on hands and knees, one ear against the ground, holding her breath to hear something, but the dirt made not a sound tonight._

This was where she would wait for him.

Every night there was a full moon, she would slip out of bed, sneak out of the Hyuga compound, and make her way out of the village. He had showed her this place, and it was sacred to her.

She reached a pale hand up to the small leather pouch tied with a black chord around her neck, hanging low enough to hide under her clothes during the day.

Carefully, she pulled open the pouch and dumped the contents out. The sparkling sand fell from the pouch several inches before stopping and swirling in midair. She smiled and reached her hand into the swirling cloud of sand, causing the glittering grains to spiral around her wrist. The slight metallic smell of blood reached her nostrils. At one time, it had frightened her. But no more. Now, it was a reminder. A symbol of whose sand this belonged to.

Of who _she _belonged to.

The sand whirled upwards, beginning its spiraling path around her head. He had told her that she would know when he was returning by the sand. She listened carefully, as if expecting the sand to speak to her. She shut her pale, lavender eyes in concentration. Nothing.

She sighed in a patient disappointment, held the open pouch up to the sand, and watched as the grains rained back into their place. She closed the pouch, and dropped it so rested just below her chest.

Tomorrow. She would try again tomorrow.

_Echoes of songs still lurk on distant foreign shores, where we danced just to please the gods that only ask for more, so it goes._

He too, was listening. But he was not listening to his sand. No, he was listening to the lovely music in his head.

He leaned against the stone wall of his room in the Kazekage tower, his arms crossed over his chest as he stared out across the desert of Suna. Miles and miles away, a girl with eyes like pearls waited for him.

He looked up towards the moon, and immediately felt the ache in his chest. The moon, in it's pale, sparkling wonder was far to close to that of the girl in his mind.

He knew she wore his sand around her neck. He could feel it. Feel her heartbeat, her spirit. Feel it as if it were a part of himself.

She was too good for him, he knew that well enough. And at first, he had tried to scare her away from him. She was meant for his blonde, kyuubi friend of Konoha. He would become Hokage and she would be with him, just as it was supposed to be. But she never relented. She continued to push herself closer and closer, insisting that there was something in her kind little heart that told her she needed to be by his side.

He would be a demon to refuse a pure soul's wish.

And every night that held the full moon, he would stand against the wall, gazing over the deserts towards Konoha, feeling the calm expectance of the pale eyed Hyuga. And he would remember, the night he finally allowed her into his heart.

She had followed him out of the village, insisting on seeing where he was going. He had said nothing, and allowed her to follow him.

They came to the tiny little clearing in the woods, a good enough distance from the village walls, and he released his sand. It swam in menacing clouds around him. He hoped to frighten her off, but she simply stared in pearl-eyed wonder at the sparkling sand.

She had stepped closer to him, raising her hand, as if to touch him. He had almost stopped her, warning her that if she tried to touch him, his sand would break her wrist. But still she persisted, with a quiet determination on her face.

Unexpected, even to him, the sand didn't touch her. Rather, its swirling path expanded to swirl around her as well. He felt the warm, gentle touch of her tiny hand on his face. Her little fingertips tracing the lines of the red mark on his forehead.

"Love," she had whispered. "Love who?"

"Myself." He had responded, his voice flat. A small smile had graced her lips and she shook her head.

She began to hum. It was a tune he did not recognize. Her hand fell away from his face, and he found himself feeling a slight clench in his chest at the loss of her touch.

She had stepped away from him, swaying slightly to the music she made. Her long, midnight hair moving like water across her shoulders.

He watched her. His green eyes following her every movement. He ran a hand through his red hair, and then reached out, summoning a handful of sand to his palm. He deposited it into a small pouch tied to his waist, and then removed it, moving closer to the dancing goddess.

She was why he stood here, every full moon. She was the reason the red mark on his forehead held a different meaning.

Love not yourself. Love her.

_But still we give ourselves to this. We can't spend our lives waiting to live_

Another night. Another night he was not there.

She allowed herself a rare moment of anger. But that quickly faded to sorrow. What was she doing? How could she continue to wait on someone who had never known love? Naruto knew love, and although she once would have wished for his, she now knew that it was not her place. He had a bigger destiny that did not have a place for her. No. She belonged with the one she waited for. The one who's sand she held close to her heart everyday.

She would spend her life waiting.

_On cold nights in a prayer for dawn, but the daylight isn't what she wants._

When the sun began to rise, she returned to the village. She hated that sun. It was just another reminder of another day that she would not see him. To her, the daylight was just a waste of time. And interval between blessed nights. Her heart belonged in the blue light of midnight, where she could hum her song.

And wait for him.

_The concrete calls my name again. I'm falling, through the cracks I slip._

Life without her was madness. It was empty. His sand moved anxiously inside the gourd, longing for her just as he longed for her. His sand had never let anyone touch him before.

No one.

Until her.

These nights without her were agony, and he wondered why he did not just leave and go to her.

The answer was always the same. She shouldn't love him, for someone like him did not deserve it.

The demon in him stirred. Not the tailed beast, but the selfish, human demon that he had always held within him.

He suppressed the poisonous thoughts. Suppressed them with thoughts of her. Her pure, kind, accepting heart. The paleness of her skin and eyes in contrast with the darkness of her hair. He could only ever picture her at night, for the sun did not suit her.

She kept him sane. Kept him from giving into the human demon within him.

She kept him alive.

_The postcard says wish you were here, but I'd rather I was there, holding on to the simple things before they disappear, that's what I meant._

The moon was mocking him. _She's there, _it taunted him. _She's there, and you're not. _No. He was not there. But oh how he longed to be. Longed to touch the smooth, marble skin of her neck. Run his fingers through the silky strands of her midnight hair. Watch her as she swayed to her song. The song that plagued his thoughts and would haunt his dreams, if only he could dream.

_But that was then, and this is now. I'll make it up to you somehow_

This was not right, he knew. He was not right for her, but she did not deserve his ignorance. He should tell her that he would no longer see. No longer have contact with her. It was safer that way. For her.

However, he knew himself far too well. And he would never be able to do such a thing. For she calmed the wildness within him.

She was the only one.

_On cold nights in a prayer for dawn, but the daylight isn't what she wants. The concrete calls my name again. I'm falling through the cracks I slip._

So she would wait, listening. And he would stand, feeling. She listened for the sound of the sand telling her he was coming back to her. And he would revel in the feel of her heartbeat through the sand. For just one more night, he would remain sane. As long as she was there, waiting for him to allow himself the love she held, he would remain sane.

For her.

_A destination, a fading smile. Another station, another mile. Another day gone, I swore that I will. Be there before dawn. So be there, I will._

And on this night, the last of the mocking full moon, he could no longer stand it. He needed her. The thought of her soft smile and lavender eyes was no longer enough to calm the beast within him. He needed her. He needed to hold her. To feel that she was indeed real, and not just a ghost of the happiness his mind was cruelly teasing him with.

He left.

Just like that.

_Be there Hinata. I am coming back. For you._

_She got down on hands and knees, One ear against the ground,Holding her breath to hear something, Anything at all_

She swore she heard it. She swore! The sound. And not just the sound, but the feel. The sand was caressing her skin, and she knew. Felt it within every fiber of her being, every beat of her heart. The waiting was over. Her love finally accepted.

_The dirt whispered, "Child, I'm coming home"_

_

* * *

_

_**A/N: **_sooo? How'd I do? LoK, i hope you liked it! For the other readers i am still taking requests and i am also a beta, so if you need or know someone who needs one, I'm open for business! And i still have a SasoHina fic coming up, so stay tuned for that! 3

Request and Review! -HeartOfEmerald


	8. Broken

**_A/N: _**this story is very LOOONG over due! i dedicate it to the very patient _Kiyoshea-Okon. _i apologize a thousand times over the lateness! but i got it done! I hope you like it!

Pairing: Minato and Kushina

Song: Broken- Lifehouse

Rating: T

* * *

_The broken clock is a comfort, it helps me sleep tonight. Maybe it can stop tomorrow from stealing all my time._

Everything was ok when she was in his arms. Right here, snuggled against his chest. That's where she belonged. He looked down at her sleeping face. He hadn't been able to sleep at all the night before. In fact, there were many nights he wasn't able to sleep. He was plagued by thoughts of her being taken in the night. Taken away from him. Just like she had been before, when he followed the strands of her vibrant red hair to find her.

He tightened his strong arms around her, pulling her even closer to him. A small mumble escaped her lips and her eyes fluttered open, focusing in on him. A smile immediately spread over her features.

"Haven't you ever been told? It's rude to stare." She said playfully, poking her beloved yellow flash in the forehead. He grinned.

"Can't help it." He told her pressing his lips to the corner of her mouth. She giggled.

"Didn't sleep again?" She inquired. His lips stopped moving, and he pulled back slightly to look into her eyes, a solemn expression on his features. She sighed. "Baka. Stop worrying about me." She grinned at him, wrapping her slender arms around his neck and pulling him closer, kissing him square on the mouth.

God, he loved her kisses.

_I am here still waiting though I still have my doubts. I am damaged at best, like you've already figured out._

She knew he worried about her, and she never tired of telling him how unnecessary it was for him to cause himself so much stress over her. She had gotten along fine before him.

Before Minato. . .

She didn't like to think of those times. Now that she had him, all the time before him seemed to be half lived. After all, how could someone really live without being whole? And she had not been whole until Minato. This man in her arms had rescued her. She had always been tough, standing her own against those that called her name like "Tomato". (She didn't earn the nickname Bloody Red Habanero for nothing after all.) But she had been empty as well. The village people looked down on her. She was loud and childish, and not to mention she held the most feared creature within her very being.

Soft lips against her collarbone distracted her from her thoughts, and suddenly she was back in her bedroom, and Minato's lips were working his way down her body, brushing the valley between her breasts and coming to rest in the center of the swirling seal that decorated her stomach. His warm tongue pressed to the lines of the seal, following its pattern. She closed her eyes and reveled in the feeling.

"Minato." She breathed. He lifted his head, and brought his lips back to her own, never getting enough of the taste that was uniquely her own. A tangy, spicy flavor that was also sweet. Uniquely Kushina.

"Mmm… habanero." He joked, earning a breathy laugh from his love.

Yes, before him, she had not been complete. And he would worry and she would tell him not to, but he would worry anyway. Because in truth, he would do anything for her.

He would die for her.

_I'm falling apart, I'm barely breathing. With a broken heart that's still beating. In the pain, there is healing. In your name I find meaning. So I'm holdin' on, I'm holdin' on, I'm holdin' on. I'm barely holdin' on to you._

That damned demon in her head was silenced. It always was when he was around. And when he was kissing her and holding her and telling her how much he loved her, the fox never uttered a sound. The fox thrived on hatred, but with Minato's lips came freedom. Not a shred of hatred was within her. Nothing for the fox to grab hold to. She had been bullied all her life for her hair, for her loud personality. And the fox had bullied her internally, relentlessly. And here was Minato, her knight (or should she say ninja) come to rescue her and put all the pieces back together.

_The broken locks were a warning. You got inside my head. I tried my best to be guarded. I'm open book instead._

He was lied to a hundred times a day. As the Hokage, there were very few people he could trust. The village advisors were stuck in their old ways and tried to manipulate him in their favor, power hungry shinobi trying to get closer to where he sat and get their say in what happened in the village. He couldn't deny the type of wall he had built around himself to protect him from the manipulations of those around him.

But not with Kushina.

Kushina was the only one who was able to reach the deepest, most hidden pieces of himself. She was the only person who could make him open up completely. With a flash of her childish smile and caress of her hand on his cheek, his wall would crumble.

It would crumble for no one but her.

_And I still see your reflection inside of my eyes. They're looking for purpose; they're still looking for life._

He saw a look on her face every once in a while. Very rarely, but it was there.

The first time he saw it, he had just gotten back to his apartment in the Hokage Tower, and she was nowhere to be seen. He wandered through the rooms until he came to the bedroom, the door to the balcony opened. Approaching it quietly, he looked outside.

There she was. Just sitting on the wide railing, her arms wrapped around her knees and her gorgeous red hair loose down her back, swaying slightly in the soft breeze. God she was beautiful.

But her beauty was not what he was so focused on this time. It was her eyes. They were gazing off somewhere in the distance, completely lost to her surroundings. Something about the way her eyes were so unfocused betrayed to him some type of hidden sadness within her.

Well, he never wanted to see that look on her face again.

He came up to her, still unnoticed, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She jumped and locked her widened eyes on his, and then relaxed, a smile spreading across her face. He smiled back and slipped his other arm under her knees, carrying her bridal style into the bedroom. Kushina, thinking this was leading to something else, wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his cheek. He smiled again and sat down on the edge of the bed, not letting go of his habanero. He cradled her to his chest, just holding onto her as he showered her face with butterfly kisses. Kushina could not restrain the brilliant smile on her face. To be loved by the man you love whole-heartedly is life's true happiness.

_I'm falling apart, I'm barely breathing. With a broken heart that's still beating. In the pain, there is healing. In your name I find meaning. So I'm holdin' on, I'm holdin' on, I'm holdin' on. I'm barely holdin' on to you._

"Kushina! This isn't funny! Where are you?" He wandered through the gardens of the Hokage Tower, keeping his eyes open for a bright spot of red.

He sighed, and glanced towards the windows of the tower, knowing there were probably several employees looking out the windows with either laughter or judgement at the relationship between the young Hokage and his wife.

He had brought her out here to spend some time with her in his busy day, but Kushina being Kushina had poked him in the forehead and ran away to hide somewhere in the lush greenery of the gardens.

A giggle from behind him caused him to turn around quickly, only to be involved in a head on collision with a bright blur of red.

"Urgh!" He grunted as they hit the ground, Kushina on top of him laughing so hard that her face turned almost as red as her hair.

"I got you! Ttebane!" She pointed and laughed. At first he was too surprised from the impact, but then he smirked and gripped her shoulders, flipping their positions. Her giggles morphed into a squeak of surprise. Now her face was red for a whole different reason.

"I got you." He teased, and leaned down to kiss her nose.

She giggled and stared adoringly up the only man she would ever love.

_I'm hanging on another day just to see what you will throw my way. And I'm hanging on to the words you say; you say that I will be ok._

Minato sat in his office, raking his fingers through his blonde hair. He was stuck here late going over a pile of mission reports. Needless to say he was exhausted. He would so much rather be upstairs in his apartment with the only person that mattered.

As if answering his thoughts, a soft pair of hands covered his eyes. For someone so clumsy at times she sure did manage to get around rather sneakily.

He smiled and covered the hands with his own, lowering them from his eyes and bringing her around to sit on his lap.

"I have a surprise for you!" She exclaimed, her eyes brighter than he had ever seen them.

"And what is that?"

"Guess!"

"Why can't you tell me?"

"Because then it's no fun!" He rolled his eyes and shook his head, used to her antics.

"You're secretly a blonde?" She wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Never!" She cried, and then turned in his lap so she could face him. "I'll give you a hint. Small, chubby, and probably looks like you."

Minato's brow creased for a moment, and then a look of realization spread over his face. Followed by a light behind his eyes that seemed to come straight from his very heart. He smiled the most beautiful smile she had ever seen and let out a short, breathless laugh. He pulled her into his arms and nuzzled his face into her hair.

"I love you." He said to her, and she laughed, allowing a few happy tears to slip through.

_Broken lights on the freeway left me here alone. I may have lost my way now. I haven't forgotten my home._

What kind of father would he be? He was afraid. He admitted it, and scolded himself for his fear. He had faced countless dangerous opponents in his life and gone on a number of missions with the risk of never coming back. And yet here he was, eyes locked on the swollen stomach of Kushina as she slept. The baby growing in there would depend on him. He would watch his son grow up, and teach him everything he needed to learn. He would love his son like no father ever loved a son before.

Being careful so as not to wake the sleeping woman, he laid a hand on her stomach, feeling the curve under his palm.

"I won't fail you" he whispered into the dark. "Naruto."

_I'm falling apart, I'm barely breathing. With a broken heart that's still beating. In the pain, there is healing. In your name I find meaning. So I'm holdin' on, I'm holdin' on, I'm holdin' on. I'm barely holdin' on to you._

_

* * *

**A/N: **_my first minatoxkushina so please let me know what you think. this is what i would like to imagine minato and kushina's life as being like before everything went to hell. The song is sad but i just couldn't write something tragic. Theyre true story is tragic enough, they dont need a sad fanfic to go with it. let me know what you think!

-HeartOfEmerald


	9. Pain

_**A'N: **_first of all, I must admit that I am not a Sasuke fan. (as is made obvious by the way he is portrayed in my fic "choices") but i did like writing this one. It is dedicated to _Becomeafan. _I apologize for this being so late but i finally did it! and i just realized when i went back into my inbox that you had also requested a song for them that i had forgotten about and used a different song. I apologize for that as well. Im so space-minded sometimes. anyway, i hope you still like this story even though its with a different song.

Pairing: Sasuke and Hinata

Song: Pain- Three Days Grace

Rating: T

* * *

_Pain, without love. Pain, I can't get enough. Pain, I like it rough 'cause I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all._

Her chest heaved with the energy she exerted. Her feet bled from running barefoot over the uneven terrain. Still, she did not stop. She had run right out of the Hyuga compound, out of the village gates and clear through the forest.

Finally, when she could force her legs no further, she collapsed on all fours by a river, staring at her own reflection.

How could they do this to her? Her own family?

No, those people were not her family. Shino, Kiba, and Kurenai. _They _were her family. Those horrible people who had disowned her, they were not her family. Her own father. He had given up on his eldest daughter and threw her out, forcing her to move in with her sensei. That all changed when her father began to see that the former-heiress was not as weak as she had once been. She was a strong, beautiful, modest kunoichi who was quickly, but unintentionally, capturing the hearts of not only her teammates, but also the very loud blonde that she had loved her entire childhood. Her father had manipulated her, and made her believe that he was a concerned parent, and had brought her back into the Hyuga family. Come to find out that he only wanted her back so he could sell her into marriage with one of her own distant cousins, a man who was ten years older than her that she had never met. (God forbid an heir be born without their precious byakugan.)

So she ran.

She regained her breath, but stayed in her position, gazing into the water. Her hair was a windswept mess around her face. She was in the shorts and the tank top that she slept in. If anyone found her here, they would think she was absolutely crazy. But she had to run. She couldn't stay in the same village as those people. Couldn't stay in a place where she would be trapped in a marriage as a slave to her husband.

"Something wrong?" She froze at the sound of a man's voice. Deep and monotone. She had a feeling she had heard it before… "Hyuga Hinata."

She looked up, and released a sharp breath in shock. She had locked eyes on none other than the Uchiha Sasuke.

_You're sick of feeling numb. You're not the only one. I'll take you by the hand and I'll show you a world that you can understand._

He had a mission. One of his first given to him by the Akatsuki in exchange for more power. He had killed his brother and they had adopted him as a replacement. His assignment had been clear. Find the Hyuga Heiress, lure her to the Akatsuki, and use her as bait for the Kyubi.

This was turning out much easier than he thought.

He found the heiress gasping for breath a small journey away from the Konoha walls.

She had spoken to him, perhaps out of curiosity. But he could see the way her hands shook in fear and hear the way she stuttered in nervousness. She was vulnerable, as it had been made obvious by the way she held back tears.

"Tell me heiress, what caused you to be in such distress?" he asked her, keeping his voice level and polite. If he could convince her to come willingly, it would be much easier.

Hinata was surprised by Sasuke's politeness. He was a traitor and one of the most dangerous ninja in the land, and yet here was. Asking her why she was upset. Shouldn't she run back to her village, or challenge him? No. If she tried to run, he would catch her. And she was in her pajamas with her weapons miles away. She didn't have a chance.

"I-I ran away." She told him, figuring the more she talked, the more time she had to come up with a plan. "M-my father w-wanted to sell me into m-marriage. So I ran."

Sasuke, seeing a way for him to achieve his mission, smirked inwardly.

"It's hard isn't it? Always answering to others. Never being allowed to choose for yourself." Hinata watched him with wide eyes as he stepped towards her, coming close enough that she had to tilt her head to see his face.

"Y-yes."

"Having to keep your head down and mouth shut. What kind of life is that?" She pressed her lips tight together, trying to keep them from trembling.

She gasped when his hand came up to cup her chin, staring deeply into her eyes. His sharingan wasn't activated, so she didn't think to look away.

She should have.

"I can offer you an escape."

_This life is filled with hurt. When happiness doesn't work, trust me and take my hand. When the lights go out, you will understand._

She shook her head, backing away unsteadily. She needed distance.

"N-no. I won't!" She cried, swallowing hard and looking frantically from side to side as if an answer would appear. "I can't."

"But you can." He responded, stepping towards her so he remained close. "You can leave all of this behind. They all take you for granted anyway. Your family, your friends. Everyone." She started to cry, her delicate shoulders shaking in distress.

"Y-you're wrong."

"Am I? Tell me, have Kiba or Shino ever let you stand on your own? Your family obviously thinks no more of you than a bargaining piece. Even your precious Naruto didn't come rescue you when your father sold you."

She was breaking, and he saw it. She couldn't control the sobs anymore.

"Come with me." He said. "Come to Akatsuki." She shook her head, but he could see that she was thinking of his offer. In a world where she was worthless and controlled, even an offer meant to be the worst choice she could make seemed like a type of salvation.

He didn't say anything more as he watched her. Little by little the sobs quieted to hiccups. Her eyes were locked on the ground and she had a lost expression on her face.

What could she do? Would she betray her whole village for freedom? She had run miles from her home for just a little bit of that freedom. If she left with this traitor, then she would become just like him.

But she would be free.

"Okay."

_Pain, without love. Pain, I can't get enough. Pain, I like it rough 'cause I'd rather feel pain than nothing at all._

He had lied. He had made her believe she was going to a life a freedom. Instead, she was just as caged as she was back in Konoha.

This time literally.

For days- or so it seemed- her only view was on the prison bars of her cell, glowing a faint blue with infused chakra that threatened to shock her should she touch them.

She curled up into the corner of her cell, knees pulled up into her chest as she cried for herself. What had she been thinking? To trust the traitor. Stupid, she knew. It was too late now. She had made her choice. And she would remain here until someone figured out where she was and came to save her.

"My my, what a pretty little bitch." Hinata looked up at the strange voice and locked eyes with a large man with silver hair. "Jashin will be pleased."

_I know that you're wounded. You know that I'm here to save you. You know I'm always here for you. I know that you'll thank me later._

She coughed, a mouthful of blood spraying from between her lips as she fell to her knees, hands clutching at the wound in her lower abdomen. A high-pitched laugh filled the cellar, echoing off the cold stone walls.

Hidan had taken her from her cell and dragged her down here. She didn't know what he was doing. He had drawn some kind of design on the ground with blood from his hand, and then cornered her, cutting a wound into her upper arm and licking the blood. She had been disgusted, but that quickly disappeared when his skin turned black with white patches, looking like some type of grim reaper. She had swallowed in fear, and watched as he took the black pointed spear in his hand and cut into his arm from his wrist up to his elbow. Her eyes widened and her breath hitched, a scream breaking free of her throat as he dragged the spear slowly.

What was this jutsu?

He laughed that psychotic laugh again and brought the tip of the spear of to his face, pressing it into the skin just above his temple. Hinata couldn't breathe. The pain was terrible and hot tears escaped her eyes as she gripped her head. Hidan smiled sadistically as he dragged it in a line across his forehead, grinning with the pleasure of watching the girl scream.

The torture continued. The longer it when the worse the injuries got. The wound on her abdomen was bleeding heavily, soaking through the tank top and spilling onto the floor.

"PLEASE STOP!" She cried, not able to take the pain. She would pass out soon, Hidan could see that. Normally he would have ended the ceremony by now, but her screams and cried were so wonderful, he just couldn't stop.

Hinata screamed, begging someone, anyone to help her.

"No one can hear you! No one will save you! You should be honored that you will become a prize of Lord Jashin!" Another loud whooping laugh from the sadist Akatsuki member.

Hinata's vision was tunneling and his voice started to fade in and out. Her body swayed and she felt the end nearing. The pain was almost over.

She vaguely heard the door open and a deep monotone voice before she fell back onto the floor. A faint _thud _was heard and arms wrapped around her before she lost consciousness.

_I know that you're wounded. You know that I'm here to save you. You know I'm always here for you. I know that you'll thank me later._

When she woke up, she was laying on something soft. Her hands gripped at the soft surface, and by the silky feel of the sheets, she guessed she was on a bed.

But whose bed?

She tried to sit up but whimpered and fell back down, her hands coming up to grip at the bandages wrapped around her stomach.

Wait a minute, what clothes was she wearing?

She opened her eyes with some difficulty and pulled the blankets away from her, examining herself. She was wearing baggy pants and a dark blue T-shirt that smelled like the air after a lightning storm.

She tried to sit up again, however was unsuccessful once again.

"You shouldn't sit up." A deep voice came from the corner of the dark room. She struggled to see through the blackness until the person came close.

"S-sasuke." She stuttered. He sat down on the edge of the bed, his face as stoic as ever.

Hinata tried to move her arm, but stopped when pain shot through it. Her entire arm was bandaged, and she could feel bandages wrapped around her head as well.

"W-what's happened to m-me?"

"Stop stuttering. It's a sign of weakness." She frowned, looking away. "Hidan got to you. Bastard belongs in the ground. Zetsu never should have gone looking for him." Sasuke sighed and shook his head, then directed his attention back towards her. "We've received word that a team of Leaf-nin are on their way, led by your precious Naruto." He said the last two words like they left a bad taste in their mouth.

"I w-want to go home." She cried, turning onto her side. "You lied to me. You told me it would be better."

"Yes. I did lie." He admitted, no shame. "But it still can be better."

Hinata found it within herself to glare at him.

"L-lies." She told him. "You're lying t-to me again."

"No. The Akatsuki leader has heard about what happened to you. He's impressed by how long you were able to withstand Hidan's torment. He's allowed me permission to train you to become a true member. If you wish it."

Although she knew she was imagining things, she thought she saw a slight glimmer of something in the onyx depths of the last remaining Uchiha.

"I don't want to be here." She said firmly. Sasuke smirked.

"But you see, a part of you does. That's why you ran from your village. That's why you did not run from me when we crossed paths. That's why you agreed to come with me." He tilted his head slightly, examining her pale, tearstained face. "That's why you're considering my offer now, even though you know that you shouldn't trust me."

She tore her eyes off him, staring at the heavy looking door of the bedroom. She gasped when his presence was suddenly much closer, his nose skimming along her jaw and stopping at her temple, his breath fanning across her face.

"Think about it, Hinata."

And then he was gone.

Hinata released a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.

Being careful, she pushed herself up with her good arm into a sitting position. She held her hands in her lap, gazing down at the bandages.

He had a point. She had survived that torture for a long time, and she had survived. Maybe she was strong. Strong enough for the Akatsuki.

A strange half smile, half smirk spread over her face. It was an expression that had never been seen before on the face of the shy, innocent Hyuga heiress.

Maybe the pain was so hard to deal with after all…

_Rather feel pain…_

_

* * *

**A/N: **_stupid sasuke. poisoning dear hinata-chan. tsk tsk. lol.

-HeartOfEmerald.


	10. Breath

**_A/N: _**this oneshot is for _Onileo. _I'm so glad you enjoy my stories and hope that this doesnt let you down. It was extremely difficult since with these two, its not exactly open for romantic possibilities. It's not really a romance, more of a torture scene. o.O still, i hope you like it!

Pairing: Sakura and Hidan

Song: Breath- Breaking Benjamin

Rating: M for character death

* * *

_I see nothing in your eyes. And the more I see the less I like. Is it over yet, in my head? I know nothing of your kind. And I won't reveal your evil mind. Is it over yet, I can't win?_

She knew this was her end. She would die here. The strange thing was that she accepted it. She would die, and that was ok. But she would be damned if she was going to go down easily at the hand so of the sociopath Akatsuki member. His skin black and white and his spear in his hand as he stood in the center of the symbol painted on the ground.

The silver haired, grim looking man smiled sadistically at her.

"You're the prettiest sacrifice Jashin has ever received. He'll be pleased. I will make this short for you. You're too delicate to handle my ceremony."

Sakura smirked.

"Like hell you bastard. Give me your best."

Hidan's inner sadist was aroused at the words of the trapped kunoichi. Could she really withstand his ceremony? For how long?

He would find out.

"Let the ceremony begin."

And with a stab of the spear through his thigh, and a ripping scream from the pink haired girl tied to the tree, the game began.

_So sacrifice yourself, and let me have what's left. I know that I can find the fire in your eyes. I'm going all the way. Get away please._

Hidan was exhausted, and yet he was not satisfied. Every time he felt the pleasure of her pain through his own wounds, she would heal herself by transferring her chakra to her wounds. Her cries were music to him, but whenever she healed herself, she healed him as well. The frustration was excruciating, and he got more frantic as he pierced himself through with the spear.

Her catlike eyes blazed with pain and dominance. She continued to smirk, despite the screams that she let loose with every wound he inflicted on the two of them.

"Damn it! Why are you doing this to me?" He screamed, his voice high pitched and frantic with the pent up frustration.

She smiled at him, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"I told you I wasn't delicate."

_You take the breath right out of me. You left a hole where my heart should be. You gotta fight just to make it through. 'Cause I will be the death of you._

He had thought he would enjoy seeing the beautiful woman suffer. But instead, she was making him suffer in the most excruciating way. The torment continued until he was releasing cries just as pained as hers.

What was she doing to him?

He _needed _to kill her. He _craved _the sound of her last breath leaving her body and the color leaving her face. The light leaving those wretched green eyes.

_This will all be over soon. Pour salt into the open wound. Is it over yet? Let me in. _

"God damn it!" He screamed. "Let this end! Let the agony end! I will kill you kunoichi! I swear it!"

"I don't doubt it." She rasped, her voice choked with the blood in her throat. "But I don't intend to make it easy for you."

_So sacrifice yourself, and let me have what's left. I know that I can find the fire in your eyes. I'm going all the way. Get away please._

This was it. He could sustain himself no longer. He would kill her. He couldn't keep trying to feel her pain when she was not allowing it. He would have to give up on trying to get any pleasure from this sacrifice. He could no longer bear to see the light in her eyes. It was too bright. Too alive.

"This is it kunoichi! You're about to be done for."

"Well it's about damn time you gave up you sick bastard."

And with a growl of fury, he pierced the spear through his chest, right through his heart, watching as her eyes widened in pain and her mouth dropped open in a silent scream.

_You take the breath right out of me. You left a hole where my heart should be. You gotta fight just to make it through. 'Cause I will be the death of you._

He could feel it in his own body. Her heart was dying. Her soul slipping. It was over.

_I'm waiting, I'm praying, realize, start hating._

As his body returned to its normal color, he approached the lifeless body on the ground. He used his foot to turn it over, looking into the face of his most infuriating sacrifice. She looked different somehow.

It was because this was not the girl he had just competed with. This was not the girl he had just killed. This was just her body. That girl was gone.

And yet he thought he could still feel her. Like she was standing behind her, smirking that devilish smirk with her bright eyes wide in victory.

_You take the breath right out of me. You left a hole where my heart should be. You gotta fight just to make it through._

He could not focus on anything. Everywhere he went, every victim he sacrificed, none could replace the unsatisfied feelings that girl had left him with. And her soul still followed him. Still haunted him. Damn her. Damn her to the darkest parts of Jashin's world.

He hated her. Hated her eyes. Hated her smirk. Hated her soul.

'_Cause I will be the death of you…_

_

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**A/N: **_wow that was difficult! how did i do? =) hidan is so...weird. o.O

-HeartOfEmerald


	11. Famous Last Words

**_A/N: _**you know, I am really starting to grow on the whole NaruSaku pairing. I used to see them as just best friends but now... i dont know. I may have to do some planning for another multi-chapter fic with these two? Perhaps? Anyway, this story is dedicated to _lilmissshortie1. _Thank you for your compliment about my writing and saying i am not like other authors who sometimes tend to get cocky. it meant very much to me and my fics! =D

Pairing: Naruto and Sakura

Song: Famous Last Words- My Chemical Romance

Rating: M

* * *

_Now I know that I can't make you stay. But where's your heart? Where's your heart? And I know there's nothing I can say to change that part._

Naruto remembered that day like a bad reoccurring nightmare. In fact, it _was _his reoccurring nightmare. The day she had left. Left Konoha. Left her home.

Left him.

She had given up. She had given up on everything after that war. Her and Naruto were the only ones that had managed to survive, as far as their knowledge, besides Hinata, Shikamaru and Shino. Everyone else was gone. For a while, her loved ones dying had spurred her on to become stronger, to hold her own in a war with the most legendary shinobi of their time. And she had. She was the strongest kunoichi alive besides her mentor, Tsunade.

However, with the death of Sasuke at Naruto's hands, she had started to lose face. She had supposedly given up on the hope of ever bringing Sasuke back. But now with the last Uchiha dead, all hope was really lost for good and it was beyond her control.

The deaths that really took a toll on her though were those of her teammates. Sai was killed by Konan, and Kakashi and Yamato by Kisame only after they had used all their chakra to aid Naruto in killing Madara.

The war ended, and they had won. But the cost of victory had been too much for Sakura, and he saw the pain etched into every feature of her beautiful face. She continued her shifts at the hospital, healing all those that had been victims of war, but she had stopped training. Stopped living. She was the walking dead. The ghost that carried all the pain and heartache and loss that had come from the war. The epitome of how war kills spirit. Hers was gone.

He had tried to bring it back. Give her some of his spirit. He just wanted to see her smile again. To see those jade eyes sparkle once more. He wanted to see Sakura. Not this shell that the war had left behind.

That day, he had caught her when she was on her way out of the village. She was leaving. She had received permission from the newly appointed Hokage- some ANBU survivor- to retire from her shinobi status and leave the village. She needed to escape the memories, and by staying in the village, all she was doing was relieving them.

Still, he had tried to stop her.

To stop her from leaving.

Stop her from leaving him.

_ "I have to go, Naruto." Her voice was monotone, and empty. Barely an echo of the beautiful voice he had once looked forward to hearing everyday._

_ "Please Sakura," he begged, hating the way her eyes were not on him, but on the gates of Konoha, her whole body waiting to escape his pleading eyes and just run. "Don't leave. Please Sakura, don't leave me."_

_ Sakura had flinched, as if recalling another painful memory. He did not realize that she was reliving the night Sasuke had left. Except this time, she was in the Uchiha's place, and Naruto was in hers._

_ "No Naruto. This is something I need."_

_ "Then let me come with you! I can help you, Sakura. I've always been there." Sakura shook her slightly._

_ "No."_

_So many bright lights, they cast a shadow. But can I speak? Well is it hard understanding? I'm incomplete. A life that's so demanding, I get so weak. A love that's so demanding, I can't speak._

Naruto hadn't understood. Then again, she hadn't tried to explain to him. But how could she? Naruto had always been the strong one. He had always been ok and always would be ok. She wasn't like him. She couldn't watch the people she loved die and somehow find the strength to wake up in the morning.

She felt like they were following her. The spirits of her friends that had died, and the spirits of the war victims- shinobi and civilian alike- that she had not been able to save. They all wandered the streets of Konoha with her, staring over her shoulder as she tried to go about her daily life.

She needed out, and Naruto would not save her this time. She wouldn't let him.

She had not seen her blonde best friend in over a year, maybe two. Every once in a while she would wonder if she would ever see him again, and ignore the pain in her chest that always seem to occur when she thought him.

_I am not afraid to keep on living, I am not afraid to walk this world alone._

She wondered from village to village, working as a medic and sleeping at inns. But no matter where she went, there was always evidence of war. Newly built graveyards, burnt remains of houses and craters found in the middle of the town. She couldn't escape it, and with every passing village, more ghosts joined the parade that followed her.

Despite this she never stopped moving. She had numbed herself to the fear. Numbed herself to the pain. Maybe she wasn't really living, but she was alive. And if she had to be alive, then she would not allow herself to feel the pain.

She no longer believed she could survive it.

She was alone.

_Honey if you stay, I'll be forgiven. Nothing you can say can stop me going home._

Naruto blamed himself. How could he not? He had not been able to help her. Had not been able to heal the one person left that still mattered to him.

Every day he would come to this spot. The place where Team 7 used to meet on the bridge. Of course now the bridge was gone. Blown up during the war. So he would sit on the river banks, waiting to see that spot of pink coming home to him.

He buried his face in his hands.

"Come back to me Sakura-chan. Please come back."

_Can you see? My eyes are shining bright. 'Cause I'm out here on the other side of a jet black hotel mirror. And I'm so weak. Is it hard understanding? I'm incomplete. A love that's so demanding, I get weak._

Sakura stood in front of the mirror of her hotel room, her hand clenched around a crumpled photograph. She had thought she had left the damned thing back in Konoha a few years back. Apparently not. She had found it, buried all the way in the bottom of her pack with her long forgotten kunai.

She held the picture up to her face, examining it carefully. Her eyes did not stray once to the black haired boy on the right side of her younger self. No, almost immediately her eyes went to the blonde haired boy on her right.

"Naruto." She allowed the name to fall from her lips, no louder than a whisper.

Naruto. He had always been there for her. Always protected her. Always kept her safe. He had provided her a comforting, safe place to run to when she was scared or lonely.

She looked at her twelve year old self in the picture, the way she smiled like not a thing could go wrong. The way her eyes shone bright enough to make anyone's day. Her hair was longer then. She looked happy.

Looking up, Sakura gazed into the reflection of her present self.

Skinny. She hardly ate anymore. Dark circles under her eyes betraying years of sleepless nights. She hadn't done a thing with her hair in who knew how long, and it hung dull and lanky around her shoulders. Her eyes were dead, her face emotionless.

What had she become?

She needed to go back. She needed to go back to Naruto.

A new determination in her, she packed her stuff, and walked out of the hotel room. Leaving the mirror and it's revelations behind.

_Honey if you stay, I'll be forgiven. Nothing you can say can stop me going home._

His eyes were betraying him. They had to be. It was some horrible trick of the light. There was no way that she was there. No way that she was walking towards him. No way that she stood in front of him. No way that she had just spoken his name in a voice that was more like her old self's.

No. She could not be here.

But she was.

Without waiting to hear her apologies, he grabbed her, pulling her towards him as he sealed his mouth to hers. Never would he let her go. Never again.

_These bright lights have always blinded me._

Everything was like a dream. How long had he imagined this? Since he was twelve? The feel of her body under his. Her soft legs wrapped around his waist as he connected their bodies, making her feel exactly what she meant to him. Showing her how much he missed her. How much he needed her.

They spent hours in that bed. Sakura relished in the smell of him. That comforting smell that brought her back to countless nights sleeping in his bed, crying into his chest as she confessed all her fears and insecurities. She cried now. But it was not in sadness. She was overwhelmed by what she was feeling. The ghosts were gone. The sorrow and guilt and loss were nothing but a slight ebbing in the corner of her newly opened heart. She was not just alive, but she was living again. She was in the arms of the man who had loved her all her life. The man who protected her. And as he repeatedly brought her over the edge that night, she realized she never should have left. She belonged right here. With this man. He would heal her.

He would complete her.

_These bright lights have always blinded me, I say. I see you lying next to me._

She looked at peace. It was a look he had not seen on her face even in the months leading up to her departure from his life. Now she was back, in his bed, curled against his chest. He knew she belonged there. And he belonged right here, with his arms around her. Holding her to him. Keeping her safe.

_With words I thought I'd never speak. Awake and unafraid. Asleep or dead._

She had told him she loved him last night. In the midst of their lovemaking, she had said the words he thought he would never hear. "I love you Naruto."

His heart had beat and his smile had reached his eyes. His cherry blossom was back, and she belonged to him.

No, that was not right. She didn't belong to him. He belonged to her.

_I am not afraid to keep on living. I am not afraid to walk this world alone. Honey if you stay, I'll be forgiven. Nothing you can say can stop me going home._

_

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**A/N: **_aww, i love a happy ending. Don't you?

-HeartOfEmerald


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